Conventionally, a film thickness of a plated film, which is formed by performing an electroplating process, is calculated by performing a simulation based on a numerical analysis method such as a finite element method or the like (for example, refer to Patent Literature 1). By performing simulations, in which conditions with respect to plating are changed in various ways, it becomes possible to derive, in advance, optimum conditions for plating, and apply them to an actual plating process.
When applying electroplating to a substrate which is an object of plating, such as a semiconductor substrate, a printed circuit board, or the like (hereinafter, the “substrate”), an electrically conductive seed layer is formed in advance as a power feed layer on a surface of the substrate, and a plating film is grown on the seed layer. In general, a substrate to be plated has an electric contact on its peripheral part. Thus, current corresponding to combined resistance, which is formed by combining an electric resistance value of a plating solution and an electric resistance value of a part between a center part and the electric contact of the seed layer, flows in the center part of the substrate. On the other hand, current substantially corresponding to the electric resistance value of the plating solution flows in the peripheral part (the part near the electric contact) of the substrate. That is, the flow of the current toward the center part of the substrate is disturbed by the electric resistance between the center part and the electric contact of the seed layer. This phenomenon that the current concentrates around the peripheral part of the substrate is referred to as terminal effect. By the terminal effect, the speed of plating at the center part of the substrate is lowered, so that the film thickness of the plating film at the center part of the substrate becomes thinner than that of the plating film at the peripheral part of the substrate, and, consequently, uniformity in film thickness in a plane is lowered (for example, refer to Patent Literature 2).